June 22, 2025
WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republicans stayed up all night to pass a multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package, with Speaker Mike Johnson defying the skeptics and unifying his ranks to approve President Donald Trump's priority bill.
With last-minute concessions and stark warnings from Trump, the Republican holdouts largely dropped their opposition to salvage the “One Big Beautiful Bill” that's central to the GOP agenda. The House launched debate before midnight, and by dawn the vote was called, 215-214, with Democrats staunchly opposed. It next goes to the Senate.
“To put it simply, this bill gets Americans back to winning again," said Johnson, R-La.
The outcome caps an intense time on Capitol Hill, with days of private negotiations and public committee hearings, many happening back-to-back, around-the-clock. Republicans insisted their sprawling 1,000-page-plus package was what voters sent them to Congress — and Trump to the White House — to accomplish. They believe it will be “rocket fuel,” as one put it during debate, for the uneasy U.S. economy.
Trump himself demanded action, visiting House Republicans at Tuesday's conference meeting and hosting GOP leaders and the holdouts for a lengthy session Wednesday at the White House.
Central to the package is the GOP's commitment to extending some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks, while temporarily adding new ones he campaigned on during his 2024 campaign, including no taxes on tips, overtime pay, car loan interest, and others.
To make up for some of the lost tax revenue, the Republicans focused on changes to Medicaid and the food stamps program, largely by imposing work requirements on many of those receiving benefits. There's also a massive rollback of green energy tax breaks from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act.
Additionally, the package tacks on $350 billion in new spending, with about $150 billion going to the Pentagon, including for the president’s new “ Golden Dome” defense shield.
Pulling the package together and pushing it to passage has been an enormous political lift for Johnson, with few votes to spare from his slim GOP majority, whose rank-and-file Republicans have conflicting priorities of their own.
Conservatives, particularly from the Freedom Caucus, held out for steeper spending cuts to defray costs piling onto the nation's $36 trillion debt.
At the same time, more moderate and centrist GOP lawmakers were wary of the changes to Medicaid that could result in lost health care for their constituents.
Late in the night, GOP leaders unveiled a 42-page amendment with a number of revisions.
The changes included speedier implementation of the Medicaid work requirements, which will begin in December 2026, rather than January 2029, and a faster rollback of the production tax credits for clean electricity projects, both sought by the conservatives.
Also tucked into the final version were some unexpected additions, including a $12 billion fund for the Department of Homeland Security to reimburse states that help federal officials with deportations and border security.
Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., said Americans shouldn’t believe the dire predictions from Democrats about the impact of the bill. “We can unlock the ‘Golden Age’ of America,” she said, echoing the president’s own words.
By early morning hours, the chief holdouts appeared to be falling in line. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said they “got some improvements.”
But two Republicans voted against the package, including Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a deficit watcher who had been publicly criticized by Trump, remained unmoved. “This bill is a debt bomb ticking,” he warned.
And Rep. Andy Harris, the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, who wanted more time, voted present. Some others did not vote.
Along with extending existing tax breaks, the bill would increase the standard income tax deduction to $32,000 for joint filers and boost the child tax credit to $2,500. There would be an enhanced deduction of $4,000 for older adults of certain income levels, to help defray taxes on Social Security income.
To cut spending, those seeking Medicaid health care, who are able-bodied adults without dependents, would need to fulfill 80 hours a month on a job or in other community activities.
Similarly, to receive food stamps through SNAP, those up to age 64, rather than 54, who are able-bodied and without dependents, would need to meet the 80 hours a month work or community engagement requirements. Additionally, some parents of children older than 7 years old would need to fulfill the work requirements.
Republicans said they want to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal programs.
